Samantha Bee Apologized For Her Ivanka Trump Insult, & It's A Relief To See
It's been a rough week for public figures who choose to call out other public figures in... shall we say... less than polite terms. It's no secret that politics can get kind of vitriolic, but as passionate as everyone is, there are some lines that definitely shouldn't be crossed. So it's good to see Samantha Bee apologize for her insult to Ivanka Trump and admit her mistake after she referred to her as a "c*nt" on her show on May 30.
On her Wednesday night show, the Full Frontal host took on the first daughter and senior adviser to the president for her ill-timed photo celebrating her children — which she posted while the rest of America was discussing the treatment of migrant children, whom the Trump administration has ordered separated from their parents if the families are crossing the southeast border without documentation. The photo took a lot of heat for its callousness in the face of families who have been forcibly separated from their own children, and Bee was definitely among the critics.
Bee said,
You know, Ivanka, that’s a beautiful photo of you and your child, but let me just say, one mother to another, do something about your dad’s immigration practices, you feckless c*nt!
Her comments drew some pretty swift backlash, with critics calling out her attack for its vulgarity.
The White House also slammed the comedian's choice of words, with Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders saying in a press conference on May 31,
The language used by Samantha Bee last night is vile and vicious. The collective silence by the left and its media allies is appalling. Her disgusting comments and show are not fit for broadcast, and executives at Times Warner and TBS must demonstrate that such explicit profanity about female members of this administration will not be condoned on its network.
Apparently, Bee took all the criticism to heart and listened to why people were angry. On May 31, she tweeted out an apology, admitting she crossed a line. She wrote,
I would like to sincerely apologize to Ivanka Trump and to my viewers for using an expletive on my show to describe her last night. It was inappropriate and inexcusable. I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it.
The TBS Network, which airs Bee's show, also apologize. In a tweet, the network stated,
Samantha Bee has taken the right action in apologizing for the vile and inappropriate language she used about Ivanka Trump last night. Those words should not have been aired. It was our mistake too, and we regret it.
It's no secret that Bee isn't the biggest fan of President Donald Trump or his administration, and her attacking them — generally speaking — isn't anything new. But recent days have raised questions about what is and isn't appropriate when it comes to attacks on public individuals, after Roseanne Barr posted a racist tweet against a former Obama administration aide which led to huge public outcry and eventually the cancellation of her show.
On May 29, Barr posted a tweet which compared Valerie Jarrett, a former aide to President Barack Obama, to an ape, a well-known racial slur used to describe Black people. People were — rightfully — outraged and appalled about the tweet. While Barr apologized, calling it a "bad joke," the ABC Network drew a line in the sand. On the afternoon of May 29, ABC announced that it was canceling her eponymous sitcom, Roseanne, which had been rebooted (to much controversy) earlier in the year, scrapping plans for a second season.
"Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show," ABC said in a statement.
Between Barr and Bee, comedians might be thinking a little more about some of their "jokes" and how they land in future. For now, at least Bee knows when she's made a mistake.
